Jeremy Clarkson endorses ‘loony’ Green Party candidate

The star of Clarkson’s Farm has weighed in on the upcoming by election for the Makerfield constituency, called when Josh Simons stood down.

The Labour MP resigned amid the ongoing leadership crisis in his party and so that Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, could seek election for Parliament.

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If Mr Burnham succeeds it is widely assumed he will challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, although according to opinion polls he is facing a stiff challenge in the constituency from Reform UK, with the vote to take place on June 18.

Now Mr Clarkson has made his thoughts known and, perhaps surprisingly, he has backed the Green candidate Sarah Wakefield.

Sarah Wakefield, 38, the Green Party candidate (Image: Green Party)

Ms Wakefield was a list minute replacement for the party’s previous candidate – who stepped down following accusations of antisemitism – and she has been criticised for a report published by the charity she is a director of.

In his The Sunday Times column Mr Clarkson said: “Sarah Wakefield is the executive director of the charity Eating Better, which, we are told, thinks farming is racist.”

As such, he referred to as a “loony”.

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However, he also defended the Green politician, noting that the report was largely written by a different person, the inclusive moment lead.

The owner of 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm near Chadlington added that most of the charity’s policies seem reasonable, including making vegetarian dishes tasty and for farmers to focus on profit.

Criticising the way the by election was brought about, he then appeared to endorse her in the hope she might split the ‘left-wing’ vote so that Mr Burnham would lose.

“Go, Sarah. Go,” he said.